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(No Model.)

A. S. TOPPING.

FIRE WOOD DRAG SAW.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALFRED S. TOPPING, OF METAMORA, OHIO, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO FIRE-WOODDRAG-SAW.

AUGUSTUS RIES, OF SAME PLACE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 346,179, dated July 27,1886.

Application filed February 1, 1886. Serial No. 190, 444. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALFRED S. TOPPING, a citizen of the United States,residing at Metamora, in the county of Fulton and State of Ohio, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Drag-Saws,of which thefollowing is a specification, reference being had therein to theaccompanying drawings.

My invention relates to improvements in cross-cut or drag-sawingmachines; and it consists in certain details of construction, which willbe hereinafter fully described.

The object of my said invention is to produce a drag-sawing machinewhich may be operated by one person, and which will be so constructedthat the pressure of the saw on the log may be increased or diminishedin proportion as the wood to be cut is hard or soft.

It further consists in devices by which the machine may be attachedsecurely to the log to be cut, and the saw secured when not in use, and,further, in means to change the pitch of the saw.

In the drawings, Figure l is a side view of my device. Fig. 2 shows theguide F. Fig. 3 shows the hanger for the saw-bar detached.

A is an upright attached to the base B, and O O D D are respectivelyupper and lower side bars forming the frame which supports the sawbar.These are braced and held apart by the vertical brace bar E, which hasan opening therein extending from side bars 0 to D, to guide thesaw-bar, and to allow it to be raised and lowered to accord with thediameter of the log to be sawed. At the forward or saw end of the frameis a second short bar or guide, F, slotted to hold .and guide the saw,and attached to and forming part of the frame, and having at its lowerend spurs or dogsf, to enter the log and hold it firmly. Attached to theside of the guide F by a pivot-pin, f, is another dog or hook, G, whichdrops over the log and additionally secures it. When not in use, thishook swings backward on its pivot, and is caught in a catch, 9, attachedto the side of one of the lower side bars D. About midway of this lowerside bar 1) is a pivoted rest, d, extending to the opposite side bar onwhich the end of the saw-bar rests when not in use. The saw-bar IIcarries at its front end the saw I, attached by bolts, or in any othersuitable manner, and its rear end is attached to the hanger J by a pinor projection, L which enters a right-angled slot in the hanger. Motionis imparted to the saw and bar by a handle, M, on the rear end of thesaw-bar. The hanger J is swung from a pivot pin or bolt passing throughthe upper end of the standard A and the upper side bars, O O, and it hasa series of right-angled slots, jj, to receive the pin L in the saw-bar.A series of openings, h, in the upper edge of the saw-bar are adapted toreceive points on the weight K, so that it can be moved to any positionon the bar to change the pressure on the saw. This is shown in thedotted lines in Fig. 1.

The operation of my device is as follows: The frame is placed so thatthe guide F rests upon the log with its spurs fforeed into the same. ThedogGis hooked overthelog. Then the catch 9 is swung round, which freesthe saw and allows it to rest on the surface of the log to be cut. Theweight K is then adjusted, j and the hanger is swung backward and forofsaw-bar H, provided with handle M, and

adjustable weight is, having projections on its under side to engagewith openings or recesses in the upper side of said bar, with middleguide, E, and log-engaging guide F,all in combination with the mainframe, substantially as described.

2. In a fire-wood drags-aw, the hanger J, pivoted at the rear top end ofthe main frame, and to the rear end of saw-bar H, said hanger beingprovided with a series of right angled slots,with which pin L on saw-barH engages, whereby the saw-bar may be adjusted vertically, all incombination with a suitable supporting-frame therefor, as set forth.

In testimony whereof I affiX my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ALFRED S. TOPPING.

Witnesses: I

S. M. CLARKE, JOHN DIALOSH.

